Foods That Are Good For Your Face

Beauty starts from the inside out. Food-grade ingredients in your beauty products are great to apply topically, but they’re no match for a diet packed with omega fatty acids and greens.

Athena Ellen, holistic esthetician and founder of the cult-favorite skincare line, Monastery, knows exactly which natural ingredients should go into a beauty product. More importantly, she knows the foods that you need to be ingesting to keep your skin healthy and glowing.

Check out these seven foods that are easy to find in your local grocery store, and can be the secret to a great complexion.

Avocados

Feel free to eat all the guacamole your heart desires. Ellen recommends this fruit that is full of omega-9 fatty acid. “Omega-9 keeps skin looking firm and dewy, regenerate damaged skin cells and reduce redness and irritation,” she says. “Omega-9 also keeps the top layer of skin moisturized which fights fine lines”. Eat this creamy green goodness to keep the skin plump, and try it topically in an oil-based facial serum for ultimate hydration.

Salmon or cod liver oil

Ellen recommends taking a shot of cod liver oil if you can stand it, but if not, she recommends eating lots of salmon. “These fish oils are super high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are the polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids protect your skin from the sun, keeping toxins out and keeping the skin looking supple and soft,” Ellen advises. She considers these fatty acids to be essential for aging gracefully.

Lemons

Ellen says that too many acidities in the body, from things like coffee, alcohol and processed foods, can throw off our body’s pH. “When the ph is out of whack, our skin becomes super sensitive, dry and irritated,” she says. “Lemons are amazing because they alkalize the blood and balance our body’s pH”. She recommends giving yourself a daily dose of lemon by squeezing it on your favorite foods or adding it to your water.

Turmeric

Turmeric is known to be an anti-inflammatory food. Ellen recommends eating fresh turmeric to fight inflammation and puffy skin. Dried turmeric is a great ingredient to sprinkle on foods or on top of drinks. “Sprinkle dried turmeric on your meals and stop waking up with puffy eyes,” Ellen says.

Blueberries

Antioxidants are essential in fighting off free radicals, and this delicious fruit is packed with those antioxidants. Not only do they help prevent the breakdown of skin cells, but they’re high in Vitamin A, which helps normalize oil levels in the body and skin. Ellen highly recommends eating blueberries if you feel like you have overactive oil glands.

Bone Broth

Drinking bone broth isn’t just a diet fad, it also has amazing skincare benefits. “Bone broth is full of collagen, calcium, and magnesium,” Ellen says. “To make bone broth, simmer bones for hours. The collagen inside the bone cooks down to gelatin. Eating gelatin is amazing for keeping the skin smooth and elastic,” she explains.

Pineapple

Pineapples are full of Vitamin C and Bromelain. Bromelain may be a popular ingredient as a digestive enzyme, but it’s also great for the skin. “Although most like using bromelain topically on the skin,” Ellen explains, “ingesting it also helps to exfoliate the skin by keeping the cell renewal process turning over at a faster rate”. Why exfoliate from the outside when you can do it from the inside while eating a tasty snack?

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Lisa Bensley is the founder of BeautyByBenz, a health and beauty blog that is really just an excuse to buy too much makeup. When she is not writing, she's probably boxing, obsessing over her Dachshund, Stanley, reading, or binge-watching Law & Order: SVU. Follow her (and Stanley's) antics on Instagram.